Arraignment set for suspect in fatal shooting at Harrah’s

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2001 | 11:12 a.m.

A 31-year-old suspect in a Harrah's shooting death, who was arrested in New Jersey after mistakenly being released from the Clark County Detention Center, is back in Las Vegas.

Michael Adam Frimmel appeared before District Judge Michael Cherry this morning on murder charges.

Cherry set a Feb. 27 arraignment date for Frimmel and asked the Clark County special public defender's office to defend him.

Frimmel and Stephen Mullen Jr. 32, have been indicted in the Sept. 8 death of Heather Vitarelli at Harrah's.

Police believe that the men began planning a series of robberies on Sept. 5 and their plan ended with Vitarelli's death.

Police believe the pair's crime spree began Sept. 5 when they allegedly stole a Harrah's customer's wallet. Police said the men used credit cards found in the wallet.

Police said that two days later the men went back to Harrah's and stole cash from one woman and the purse of another. Inside the purse was cash and personal belongings worth more than $2,500.

Suspecting the men of the thefts, Harrah's security guards confronted them.

As Frimmel ran off, Mullen was tackled by guards. Police said that while the guards struggled to handcuff him, Mullen fired two shots.

One of the shots struck security guard Frank Willis in the abdomen and another hit Vitarelli in the back as she stood oblivious to the struggle 35 feet away.

The security officers were then able to get the gun from Mullen and handcuff him. Other officers caught Frimmel.

Mullen was immediately charged with murder, but Frimmel was charged only with fraud-related cases. As a result, Justice of the Peace James Bixler didn't know about the murder case and ordered Frimmel's release when the district attorney's office failed to file a criminal complaint on his fraud cases within the statutory deadline.

Frimmel was arrested in Ventnor City, N.J., a few days later after formal murder charges were filed against him and a warrant was issued.